Once-Strong U.S. Medal Hopes Go From Slim to None

American volleyball’s Olympic flameout is complete.

The U.S. women were knocked out of medal contention Tuesday by defending Olympic champion Cuba, one day after the U.S. men failed even to reach the quarterfinals.

For the first time since the 1980 boycott, the U.S. will not win a medal in indoor volleyball, ending an era in which the men won two golds and a bronze and the women won a silver and a bronze.

At least the women lost to a powerhouse, falling to a fiercely inspired Cuban team, 15-1, 15-10, 15-12, in a quarterfinal game before 15,300 at the Omni. The U.S. men’s hopes were ended Monday in a five-set loss to Bulgaria, the third of three losses in a row.

“I think we’re in shock,” said Tammy Liley, a veteran of three Olympics from Westminster.

Only the introduction of beach volleyball preserved a shred of pride. Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes won the gold, Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh won the silver. The American women were shut out indoors and outdoors.

“It’s just very depressing, mostly because we came here with such high expectations,” said Doug Beal, a USA Volleyball executive who was coach of the men’s gold-medal team in 1984. “We’ve had two teams that have been setting world standards, not just in performance but in management and professionalism. Then you have the Olympics in your own country and that further heightens the expectations.”

Now the women, picked to win bronze, can finish no better than fifth. The men, given an outside chance for the bronze, finished in the bottom four of a 12-team tournament.

“I think we have one of the best teams in the world, but we didn’t play like it,” Liley said. “If we had 12 players playing great, we could have beaten Cuba. We’d have had a chance to win a gold medal. But to not play great and lose is hard.”

The U.S. had to face Cuba in the quarterfinals only because two uncharacteristic and rather lackadaisical losses by the Cubans dropped them to third in their pool. The Americans finished second in the other pool at 4-1.

Once the Cubans saw USA on the other side of the net, they weren’t lackadaisical anymore.

“When you’re here in the USA, everybody’s going to be fired up to play you,” Liley said. “I hadn’t seen Cuba play anything like that here. Nothing like that.”

Cuba has won 58 of the last 91 meetings between the teams, and though the U.S. won two of six this year, both victories came without regulars Magalys Carvajal, Regla Torres and Mireya Luis.

Cuba smoked the Americans in the first game with big, sharply angled hits and terrific blocking. Carvajal, a 6-foot-3 leaper, finished the match with 16 kills and a remarkable nine blocks. Luis had 17 kills and four blocks.

“A blowout,” Coach Terry Liskevych called the first game. The U.S. led the second, 10-7, before Luis led a Cuban charge, and the Americans led, 12-11, in the third. Cuba shifted into another gear both times.

“We had every chance in the second and third game. We just couldn’t finish,” Liskevych said.

Liskevych kept his promise to run players in and out of the game, looking for a combination that would work, pulling outside hitter Teee Williams and middle blocker Bev Oden early for Elaine Youngs and Danielle Scott. Scott finished with 10 kills, as did Liley. Tara Cross-Battle led the U.S. with 11.

Williams, bothered by a recent back injury, has struggled all tournament.

“She can play a lot better,” Liley said.

Youngs and Scott sparked the U.S. into competitive second and third games, as did veteran Caren Kemner, whose two service aces and desperate digs helped keep the Americans close. When yet another of the miscommunications that have dogged the team the entire tournament allowed a ball to fall among three U.S. players early in the third, Kemner was angriest, shouting at her teammates to gather themselves.

They couldn’t, and now USA Volleyball is left to assess its condition.

“I think the women got a lousy draw, playing Cuba,” Beal said. “I don’t know how Cuba lost two matches. I think the men suffered a little in terms of being physically overmatched. We’ve never been able to find a real hammer to replace Pat Powers or Steve Timmons.

“We’re all going through just a sense of realization right now. I guess we went from being nowhere to being way up here. Now we’ve sort of gone down below that level. We’re not very happy. It’s not that we have to have a turnaround--it’s not that bad. It’s not like the situation in the ‘70s when we weren’t competitive. We’re just below where we expected to be.”